Apparently there were some problems this weekend.

[Skinner]

Regarding the thread by Temporary Sockpuppet:

For those of you who are looking for an explanation, look no further than the thread itself because all the information you need is right there. A member of our community asked for permission to post a thread to ask for advice on a personal issue using an anonymous account. They asked my permission because they knew that creating a sockpuppet account was against the rules.

I granted permission, provided that they let everyone know the account was a sockpuppet, they indicated that they had admin approval to create the sockpuppet, and they never used the account again. The moderators posted in the thread to make clear that I had, in fact, granted permission for the member to do so.

I did not expect the reaction that the thread caused, but I do not regret that I gave permission, and I would do it again. This person received a lot of helpful advice and support from those members who chose to take the thread at face value. The person who posted the thread remained polite and civil, despite many posts in the thread that were not.

My only regret is that this all happened on a day when I was not available to help the moderators deal with it. I was offline Friday night and all day Saturday because I was helping my wife get set up for a bridal shower in our home.

Now that this whole tempest in a teapot is over, please give the moderators a break. This issue isn't worth the effort that everyone has wasted on it already. If you have any questions or concerns you are welcome to email me directly, but bear in mind that I've just said everything that needs to be said about this.